I don't know if "across the board" free flat repairs have made it into Canada, yet. I do know of tire shops that offer "lifetime" rotations and balancing along with flat repairs on tires that they have sold. We have two tire shops that use this marketing strategy in our town.... This is a great opportunity to sell "stuff"...
At the same time, tire shops rarely pay decent wages...... I don't think you'll get great people for mediocre pay....
Probably true... A lot of the tire shop employees here tend to be hispanics, who are glad to be here even at fairly crappy wages. I always put something in their hand if they do an attentive job.
I disagree here. What you get when you pay peanuts are a lot of people who don't have a long Resume in the field in which they are working, and a high turnover rate. Usually this means young people just starting out, or older people who are coming from shrinking fields. If your trying to run a tire place where the work isn't particularly challenging, and is the same thing day after day, the high turnover isn't a problem. If your trying to run a hospital where the work is very challenging, and is quite different day after day, the high turnover is unacceptable.
I would guess that in a week, any reasonably intelligent person could learn everything they needed to know about mounting and dismounting tires from a rim, running a balancing machine, and fixing flats.
As for lazy, slipshod, blowoff workers, I've seen plenty of those both at the low wage scales, and the high wage scales. The only difference is at the high wage scales those kind of workers are better at covering it up.
If the management at the tire store knows what they are doing, they won't be keeping the bad employees.
Ted
My local Goodyear will do a on-time for $12.95, or a lifetime for $15.95...
I don't know how well the fellows a paid nor how long they stay with the fast pace job. I notice, here in Pac. NW and in N. Calif., the Les Schwab "team" are most all Caucasian, late teens-20somthing. I don't think a 30ish or older could maintain the pace. I suspect a lot has to do with motivation, "gun-hoe" team spirit. I never see any active supervision, I suspect it is just a team leader situation.
What surprises me most, is the customer is great 'curb-side' or at the parking spot outside the service bay. For minor service you seldom have to go into the store. I recently took bad battery in and the loaded a new one in the back of my truck without question but reminded me I would need to go inside to get a new warrantee card. Whole process was less than 5 min.
I have never tipped and that is only because I have never seen anyone else tip. I would be glad to do it if I didn't think it would be outside their policy or start the end to very good service, for free.
I doubt the these young fellow stay there for very long. However, I think that when they do leave, the leave with a good work ethic, team motivation and a good reference for the next job.
I use one of these, it's not very heavy duty but it gets me by. I've changed and patched maybe 20 tires using it. Of course the trick is to have it securly bolted down. It's all manual, and some old tires are very hard to break down. If you haven't ever busted tires I wouldn't recommend it, but if you have and know the tricks it works fairly well.
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